U.S. patent number 4,871,091 [Application Number 07/250,611] was granted by the patent office on 1989-10-03 for disposable package for liquids.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Mason-Keller Corporation. Invention is credited to Robert Preziosi.
United States Patent |
4,871,091 |
Preziosi |
October 3, 1989 |
Disposable package for liquids
Abstract
A package for shipping, storing and controlled dispensing of a
unit or single use quantity of liquid comprises a pair of flexible,
liquid-impermeable sheets superposed one over the other. Each of
the sheets comprises a first substantially rectangular section and
a second substantially rectangular section, having different
widths, and a transition section interconnecting the other two
sections. One of the sheets has a recess formed therein which
defines a pocket receivable of a unit or single use quantity of
liquid. The other sheet defines a cover extending across and
covering the recess. The recess also includes a portion defining an
elongated and narrow spout extending outwardly of the pocket. The
sheets are hermetically sealed to one another about their periphery
completely about the recess. The "seal" may be manually peeled back
in the region of the spout to open the package. The portions which
peel back and the portions of the package proximate the opening are
shaped so as to arcuately taper back from the opening, thereby
eliminating any sharp edges in the vicinity of the opening. The
package is particularly suitable for use with "eye drops".
Inventors: |
Preziosi; Robert (West Orange,
NJ) |
Assignee: |
Mason-Keller Corporation
(Roseland, NJ)
|
Family
ID: |
22948458 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/250,611 |
Filed: |
September 29, 1988 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
222/92; 604/295;
222/541.6; 206/438; 206/532; 222/420; 206/484; 206/530; 222/107;
383/210 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61F
9/0008 (20130101); B65D 75/5811 (20130101); B65D
75/32 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61F
9/00 (20060101); B65D 75/58 (20060101); B65D
75/52 (20060101); B65D 75/28 (20060101); B65D
75/32 (20060101); B65D 037/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;222/92,107,541,420,490,206,212,215 ;604/295,310
;206/530,532,438,484,631,633 ;383/35,59,906,107 ;D9/302 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Rolla; Joseph J.
Assistant Examiner: Bollinger; David H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sherman and Shalloway
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A package for shipping, storing and controlled dispensing of a
unit or single use quantity of liquid comprising:
a pair of flexible, liquid-impermeable sheets superposed one over
the other, each of said sheets having a longitudinal axis and
comprising a first substantially rectangular section of a first
predetermined width, a second substantially rectangular section of
a second predetermined width, said second predetermined width being
less than said first predetermined width, and a transition section
intermediate said first and second sections having a width tapering
from said first predetermined width adjacent said first section to
said second predetermined width adjacent said second section, one
of said sheets having a recess, co-axial with its longitudinal
axis, pre-formed therein defining a pocket substantially disposed
within said first section and said transition section of said
sheet, said pocket having a volume only slightly larger than the
volume of said unit or single use quantity of liquid, the other of
said pair of sheets defining a cover extending across and covering
said recess enabling compression of said pocket and pressurization
of said liquid by squeezing thereof between a user's thumb and
forefinger without contaminating said liquid, said sheets being of
sufficient resilience and flexibility to enable expansion of said
pocket and cessation of pressurization of said liquid upon release
of such user compression thereof, said recess further comprising a
portion defining an elongated and narrow spout portion co-axial
with said sheet longitudinal axis, extending generally outwardly of
said pocket from said transition section into said second
section;
sealing means for hermetically sealing said sheets together
peripherally completely around said pocket and spout portion to
protect said liquid from contamination and being manually peelable
in the region of said spout to enable manual peeling back of the
second portions of said sheets in the region of said spout to a
controlled extent less than the length of said spout portion to
provide a restricted opening near an end of said spout portion and
an aseptic annular rim defined by a portion of said peeled sheets
so that during expression of pressurized liquid through said
restricted opening said liquid only touches material theretofore
previously sealed to retain said liquid sterile as it is expressed
outwardly through said spout portion and said restricted opening,
said sealing means having a stop line which defines a generally
straight line edge substantially perpendicularly disposed to said
longitudinal axes across said second sections in the region of said
spout, said stop line peripherally permanently affixing said sheets
one to the other;
means defining an arcuately shouldered notch centered at each end
of said stop line in each of said pair of sheets so that when the
ends of said second sections are peeled back to said stop line, and
folded back upon respective transition sections, the portions of
said sheets proximate said aseptic annular rim arcuately taper
backwardly from said aseptic annular rim.
2. The package according to claim 1, wherein said flexible, liquid
impermeable sheets comprise metal foil.
3. The package according to claim 2, wherein said metal foil is
aluminum.
4. The package according to claim 2, wherein said stop line
comprises a weld line.
5. The package according to claim 1, wherein said sealing means
comprises an adhesive.
6. The package according to claim 5, wherein said adhesive is heat
activatable.
7. The package according to claim 1, wherein said arcuate shoulder
is a quadrant of a circle.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a package for shipping, storing
and controlled dispensing of a unit or single use quantity of a
liquid. More particularly, the present invention relates to
packages for eye drops, i.e. liquids for topical application to the
eye.
(2) Description of Prior Act
Packages which are destined for a single use in the dispensing of a
filling contained therein are known in various forms. For example,
U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,745, to Hannemann et al, discloses a package
comprising a single layer material having an interior cavity,
surrounded on all sides by said material, forming a space to
receive a filling. A hollow tubular body is connected to the cavity
for passage of the filling material therethrough. A first
longitudinal part of the hollow tubular body is surrounded fixedly
by said material, and a second longitudinal part of the hollow
tubular body is surrounded loosely by said material. The loosely
surrounded portion and the fixedly surrounded portion are divided
by a "tear off" area whereby the material which loosely surrounds
the hollow tubular body may be removed to open the package.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,739, to Tasch et al, discloses a sealable,
autoclavable package. More particularly, there is disclosed a
heat-sealed, peelable package sterilized by autoclaving at elevated
temperatures comprising a pair of substrates, wherein at least one
of the substrates has a continuous, generally peripheral coating
securing the substrates together. The coating comprises 18.75 parts
by weight polyvinyl acetate and about 5.8 parts by weight
nitrocellulose. The coating retains its normal peelable
characteristics despite exposure to autoclaving temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,308, to Hollander, Jr., discloses a package
comprising a cylindrical plastic tube closed at each end by an
ultrasonic band seal. The seal at one end has a sealed region which
is narrower than any other portion of the seal, whereby squeezing
of the package produces an immediate one-shot dispensing of liquid
contained therein by causing rupture of the narrow region of the
seal. Notched seals can provide a "tear open" package.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 248,732, to Vollmar, discloses a collapsible
tube-like container wherein apparently a portion of the container
material is formed as a ring to facilitate hanging of the container
on a display rack, and wherein this ring portion of the container
may be torn or cut off to open the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,121, to Volckening, discloses a package with a
self-sealing closure. Specifically, the package is formed of two
identical sections which comprise layers of a suitable material
sealed together in zones that form and bound between them a
commodity containing compartment and an elongated discharge passage
the extremity of which is normally tightly and permanently sealed.
Preferably, the portions of the layers forming the walls of the
compartment are self-sustaining but resilient so as to provide for
momentary pressing of said walls toward each other to force some of
the fluent commodity through the discharge passage, after the
discharge passage is cut open, and for subsequent resilient
movement of said walls away from each other and toward their
original condition, to create a partial vacuum in the compartment
causing self-sealing of the elongated discharge passage.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,684, to Schmitt, discloses a method of
producing aseptic packages, particularly ampoules. The method
comprises forming a plurality of oppositely directed substantially
identical indentations on a foil on each side of a fold line.
Thereafter, folding the foil material along the fold line to align
the indentations so that they form half portions of individual
containers. The foil sections are sealed together so that they
close the container around a juncture line. Each container
indentation includes a neck portion terminating in an outwardly
widening funnel opening adjacent the edge of the foil material. The
individual containers are then filled through the funnel and the
neck portion is thereafter sealed directly below the bottom of the
funnel. The area adjacent the seal and the juncture line is
provided with tear lines to facilitate removal and opening of
individual packages.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,116, to Mason, discloses a controlled flow
liquid disposable unit package for single use packaging and
dispensing of liquid commodities. In particular, a pad having
liquid absorbed therein is sealed within the package to aid in
containing liquid within the pocket, preventing inadvertent rupture
of the pocket and aiding in control of liquid dispensing.
However, the aforementioned containers are variously difficult to
fabricate and/or difficult in control of dispensing. Moreover, all
of these containers provide sharp edges in close proximity to the
containers opening, thus, presenting a danger in their use with eye
drops. Additionally, it is difficult to prevent particulate matter,
e.g., picked up from absorbent pads, from being dispensed with the
liquid commodity. This latter problem is particularly exacerbated
in the case of eye drops.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to overcome
the aforementioned difficulties with packages for the shipping,
storing and controlled dispensing of a unit or single use quantity
of liquid.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a package for
shipping, storing and controlled dispensing of a unit or single use
quantity of a liquid which is particularly efficacious for
utilization with eye drops.
These and other objects of the invention, as will become apparent
hereinafter, have been achieved by the provision of a package for
shipping, storing and controlled dispensing of a unit or single use
quantity liquid comprising: a unit or single use quantity of a
liquid; a pair of flexible, liquid-impermeable sheets superposed
one over the other, each of the sheets having a longitudinal axis
and comprising a first substantially rectangular section of a first
pre-determined width, a second substantially rectangular section of
a second pre-determined width, the second pre-determined width
being less than the first pre-determined width, and a transition
section intermediate the first and second sections having a width
tapering from the first pre-determined width adjacent the first
section to the second pre-determined width adjacent the second
section, one of the sheets having a recess, co-axial with the
longitudinal axis, pre-formed therein defining a pocket
substantially disposed within the first section and the transition
section of the sheet, the pocket having a volume only slightly
larger than the volume of the unit or single use quantity of
liquid, the other of the pair of sheets defining a cover extending
across and covering the recess enabling compression of the pocket
and pressurization of the liquid by squeezing thereof between a
user's thumb and forefinger without contaminating the liquid, the
sheets being of sufficient resilience and flexibility to enable
expansion of the pocket and cessation of pressurization of the
liquid upon release of such user compression thereof, the recess
comprising a portion defining an elongated and narrow spout
portion, co-axial with the longitudinal axis, extending generally
outwardly of the pocket from the transition section in the second
section; sealing means for hermetically sealing the sheets together
peripherally completely around the pocket and spout portion to
protect the liquid from contamination and being manually peelable
in the region of the spout to enable manual peeling back of the
sheets in the region of the spout to a controlled extent less than
the length of the spout portion to provide a restricted opening
near the outboard end of the spout portion and an aseptic annular
rim defined by a portion of the peeled sheets so that during
expression of pressurized liquid through the opening the liquid
only touches material theretofore previously sealed to retain the
liquid sterile as it is expressed outwardly through the spout
portion and the opening, the sealing means forming a stop line
which defines a generally straight line edge substantially
perpendicularly disposed to the longitudinal axis across the second
section in the region of the spout, the stop line peripherally
permanently affixing the sheets one to the other; means for
defining an arcuately shouldered notch centered at each end of the
stop line in each of the pair of sheets so that when the outboard
ends of the second sections are peeled back to the stop line, and
folded back upon respective transition sections, the portion of the
sheets proximate the aseptic annular rim arcuately taper backwardly
from the aseptic annular rim.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a top sheet for the formation of a package
in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a bottom sheet for the preparation of a
package in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a side view of a package in accordance with the present
invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a package in accordance with the
present invention.
FIG. 5 is a view of the package in accordance with the present
invention, in use.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Turning now to the drawing figures, there is shown and illustrated
a unit package in accordance with the present invention designated
generally by the reference character 10. The package 10 may be
comprised of a top sheet 12 and a bottom sheet 14 sealed together
along an end portion 16, along side portions 18 and 20 and head
portion 22 extending between the side portions 18 and 20 at the
ends thereof remote from end portion 16 thereby providing a sealed
pocket 24 completely contained by the peripherally sealed end
portion 16, side portion 18, side portion 20 and head portion 22
(the outline of which is shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4). The
remaining portion of top sheet 12 and the remaining portion of
bottom sheet 14 are preferably unsealed from each other to define a
pair of flap portions 26 and 28 at the end of the package remote
from end portion 16. Each of top sheet 12 and bottom 14 may be
symmetrical about a longitudinal axis, A and B, respectively. Each
of the sheets, 12 and 14, comprises a first substantially
rectangular section, 30a and 30b, of a first pre-determined width,
a second substantially rectangular section, 32a and 32b, of a
second pre-determined width, which is less than the first
pre-determined width, and a transition section, 34a and 34b,
intermediate the first and second sections, having a width tapering
from the first predetermined width adjacent the first section to
the second predetermined width adjacent the second section.
The bottom sheet 14 has a recess 36, co-axial with the longitudinal
axis B, performed therein defining the pocket 24 which is
substantially disposed within the first rectangular section 30b and
the transition section 34b of the bottom sheet 14. The pocket 24
may have a volume only slightly larger than the volume of the unit
or single use quantity of liquid which is to be contained within
the final package.
The top sheet 12 may be superposed over the bottom sheet 14 with
the longitudinal axis A aligned with the longitudinal axis B, so as
to form a cover extending across and covering the recess 36
enabling compression of the pocket 24 and pressurization of the
liquid by squeezing thereof between a user's thumb and forefinger
without contamination of the liquid contained within the pocket 24.
The top sheet 12 and the bottom sheet 14 are of sufficient
resilience and flexibility to enable expansion of the pocket and
cessation of pressurization of the liquid upon release of such user
compression thereof. The top sheet and the bottom sheet may be
formed of any material having the requisite degree of resilience
and flexibility so long as they are also impermeable to the liquid
which is to be contained within the package. Suitable materials for
the formation of such packages are known in themselves in the art,
however, exemplary of such materials are thermoplastic resins and
metallic foils, with aluminum foil being particularly
preferred.
The recess further comprises a portion forming an elongated and
narrow spout 38 which is co-axial with the longitudinal axis B, and
extends generally outwardly of the pocket 24 from the transition
section 34b into the second section 32b.
As shown by the stipling in FIG. 2, an adhesive coating may be
applied to the surface of bottom sheet 14 so as to form a hermetic
field between bottom sheet 14 and top sheet 12 which completely
encompasses the recess 36. Preferably, the adhesive is a heat
activatable adhesive, such as a thermoplastic, so that upon
assembly and pressing between mating heated dies defining the end
portion 16, the side portion 18, the side portion 20 and the head
portion 22, the package will be formed as aforesaid. A stop line 40
which defines a generally straight line edge substantially
perpendicular disposed to the longitudinal axis across the second
section in the region of the spout 38 may be formed by welding
along the straight line, so as to peripherally permanently affix
the sheets 12 and 14 one to the other. The adhesive utilized, at
least in the spout area, allows the sheets 12 and 14 to be manually
peeled one from the other so as to provide a restricted opening 41
near the outboard end of the spout portion and aseptic annular rim
42 defined by a portion of the peeled sheets so that during
expression of pressurized liquid (as shown in FIG. 5) through the
opening the liquid only touches material theretofore previously
sealed to retain the liquid sterile as it is expressed outwardly
through the spout portion and the opening. By providing the stop
line 40, a limit is placed on the degree of peeling apart of the
sheets 12 and 14 by manual force exerted on flaps 26 and 28.
An arcuately shouldered notch 44, 44' is formed at each end of the
stop line and centered on the stop line in sheet 12 and similarly
an arcuately shouldered notch 46 and 46 prime is formed at each end
of the stop line and centered on the stop line in sheet 14. By the
provision of these arcuately shouldered notches, when the flaps 26
and 28 are peeled back to the stop line (as shown in FIG. 5) and
folded back upon the package, the portions of the sheets 12 and 14
which are proximate aseptic annular rim 42 arcuately taper
backwardly from the aseptic annular rim. Thus, no sharp (pointed)
edge is formed at the peripheral edges of the package when in use.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the
arcuately shouldered notches have shoulders formed in the shape of
a quadrant of a circle, however, any smooth curve will provide a
sufficiently dull edge so as to avoid possible injury to the user
of the package.
As shown in FIG. 5, when the present package is grasped between the
thumb and forefinger (shown in phantom lines) of a user, with the
flaps 26 and 28 folded back (shown in solid lines) from their
normal position (shown in phantom lines) the provision of arcuately
shouldered notches produces a rounded corner adjacent to the
aseptic annular rim of the opening for expression of the liquid
material in drop like form from the package. These rounded edges
are particularly desirable when the liquid contained in the package
constitutes a topical preparation for the eye, e.g. eye drops,
whereby pointed edges are removed from the vicinity of application.
Of course, the presently contemplated package may also be utilized
with other materials such as food flavorings, vitamin drops,
cosmetics, condiments, and the like.
By appropriate selection of the adhesive to be utilized with the
present packaging system, packages constructed in accordance with
present invention provide complete hermetic sealing with zero
transmission of moisture and/or contamination. Further, by
appropriate selection of the adhesive material, packages in
accordance with the present invention may be autoclaved so as to be
thereby rendered sterile and as heretofore pointed out, when the
flaps 26 and 28 are folded backwardly, as shown in FIG. 5, an
aseptic opening is provided.
* * * * *